Chicago Bears: Overrated free agents to stay away from
By Ryan Heckman
1. Cornerback Josh Norman
There was once a day where Josh Norman was a feared shutdown corner. Those days lasted up until about two or three years ago. Since the 2015 season (his last year with the Carolina Panthers), Norman has gotten consistently worse in coverage.
Per Pro Football Focus, Norman allowed just 13 touchdowns over the course of his first 6 seasons in the NFL. That number is astoundingly good.
However, over his last two years, Norman has given up a whopping 16 touchdowns, again per PFF.
Now, we can debate all day long about PFF and the grading systems they have in place, but those facts simply cannot be debated. Norman has been absolutely atrocious for two seasons in a row.
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The Bears released Prince Amukamara in order to save some cap space and, despite Norman’s two abysmal seasons, I still think he’ll get some decent money. I’m not saying he’ll get top cornerback money at this stage, but whatever a team wants to offer him will likely be overpaying.
Instead, Chicago should go after a guy like maybe Logan Ryan or Jimmy Smith, or even a rookie out of this year’s class. The one player they shouldn’t sign here, though, is Norman.